


The Doctor's Tea

by thetransgirlwhoneverwas



Series: Fictober 2020 [22]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27234730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetransgirlwhoneverwas/pseuds/thetransgirlwhoneverwas
Summary: The Doctor's tea has gone cold.
Series: Fictober 2020 [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952200
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	The Doctor's Tea

The Doctor’s tea had gone cold.

The Doctor had had one of the most harrowing few days of her lives. Her companion, her family, knew that, even if she didn’t know exactly what had happened that day after they had been separated. She knew that the Doctor and her friends had been attacked by Cybermen. It had been, after all, the tail end of the Cyber Wars. An awful place to go at the best of times. She didn’t know what had happened after that. Only that the Doctor had come back some time later without her companions. And that whatever had happened, she had been almost broken by the event.

This was not the first time it had happened, of course. She had seen the Doctor in a similar state far too many times. Usually after the death of one of her friends. That, too, happened far too many times. They lived such fleeting lives, both she and the Doctor knew that, but they both still connected with all of them. She felt she had a duty of care to them, that, much like the Doctor was, the Doctor’s friends were all under her protection. That at the end of the day, she would always be a place to return to. A safe haven from whatever had happened. A home for all of them. Somewhere they could come back and relax with some rest, a safe environment, and a nice cup of tea. Nearly all of the Doctor’s friends enjoyed tea.

The Doctor’s tea had gone cold.

So, when the Doctor had returned without her friends, and she could sense that she was deeply unhappy by what had happened, she was afraid. Afraid that they had died. Afraid that the Doctor had lost them, and that she had failed to keep them safe. She knew that she couldn’t keep them all safe. She knew from experience. She and the Doctor both did. She had seen his friends die before, and no matter how much he pretended he did, he never really moved past it. She could tell. They were linked, after all. By more than just symbiotic nuclei. They had been through so much together. Stolen each other and ran away to see the universe, all that time ago, and in all that time they had never abandoned each other. They were linked, inexorably, and so she could tell when the Doctor was upset. And whenever one his friends died, a small part of him was always upset forever afterwards. And this latest Doctor, well, she was no different.

So when the Doctor had come home, alone and broken, and she had assumed the worst, that link had worked against them. For just the briefest of moments, she had been overcome by the grief of her pilot, her family, just as the Doctor had been overcome for just a moment. For just a moment, she let her guard down. Just a moment. But a moment was all they needed. They had come in without permission, taken the Doctor, and left. Taken her away somewhere, and she didn’t know where.

But this was the Doctor. No matter how hard he fell, she always got back up again. Nothing could keep her in low spirits forever, and she would always find a way back. No enemy could defeat him for good, and no prison could hold her for long. He would find her way back, no matter what happened. He always did. She always would. And when she did come back home, whether on her own, with her friends, or with some new friends she had made along the way, she would find a nice hot cup of tea waiting for her. The Doctor loved tea.

But the Doctor’s tea had gone cold.


End file.
